Queen Victoria

Whilst at the Victoria & Albert Museum recently, I spotted this!

unfortunately I wasn't tall enough to get a good picture

From a distance you could tell it was some form of needlework or weaving, but I was completely shocked to discover it is in fact woven tapestry.

It was woven in 1877 at the Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory and won a gold medal at the Paris International Exhibition in 1878. For me, as well as being technically exquisite, it is representative of the trend of copying paintings directly into tapestry, a method which is often cited as the medium's downfall before it's renaissance in 1940s France. The original painting was by Heinrich von Angeli (Hungary, 1840-1925). The work was commissioned by furniture-makers Gillow & Co, London who founded the tapestry workshop. For more information on the V&A website, please click here.